Essen light weeks
At the Essen Light Weeks is Essen city each year during the festive season illuminated with light panels and lights jewelry mostly at a specified theme. Traditionally, the light weeks are opened with a tour of the mayor and guests and are considered an important part of the city's advertising.
The light weeks began their current tradition on December 3, 1950. But since 1928 the city center has been regularly decorated with garlands of light, stars and the like during the Christmas season.
history
Before World War II
Before the Second World War , in 1928, the first light show took place in downtown Essen and thus attracted customers. Games of light were also installed at what was then Krupp's consumer institute on Ostfeldstrasse. In the years that followed, the city was further decorated with fairy lights. In addition, there was a Christmas market in the 1930s, which had its stalls on Burgplatz . At the suggestion of the energy company RWE , in 1938 the Kettwiger Strasse and Limbecker Strasse were again decorated with chains of lights and garlands.
1950s
With the slogan Light attracts people , Essen's business people , in cooperation with RWE and AEG , began to use garlands and simple stars to illuminate the inner city, which was being rebuilt after the Second World War and around 90 percent had been destroyed. The local daily newspapers reported literally in the post-war period that customers were storming downtown Essen in the run-up to Christmas. At times the main shopping streets had to be converted into one-way streets for pedestrians in order to cope with the crowds. The public transport made special trips. The Essener Lichtwochen exerted a corresponding attraction on people after the dark times of the war.
After the state passed the blackout ordinance in 1951, according to which the lights in all shop windows had to be switched off from 8 p.m. in order to save energy, the lights of the Lichtwochen received an exemption until 10 p.m. Soon the light weeks had an annually changing theme: after it was simply called Essen im Licht in 1950 and 1951 , the Festival of Light in 1952 and only crowns and crystals in 1953 and 1954 , in 1955 the Grugapark , Essen's garden exhibition, determined the image of the luminous city center with the motto Gruga in the city . 1001 Nights shone like a fairy tale in the following year 1956. In 1957 the motto was Streets of Europe , with the Brandenburg Gate shining between the main train station and the Hotel Handelshof . 1959 there were the forms of time .
1960s
In this decade, the light weeks brought economic growth to the city, which is transforming itself from a mining industry into a service metropolis, due to the further increase in visitor numbers. Since then, the light show has been opening in October, and not in December as before. The topics dealt with sporting or cultural events, as well as politics and upheavals of this era. 1960 began with the motto “ Premiere im Licht” , in which the design of the Aalto Theater was decisive. But this was only opened in 1988. This was followed in 1961, a journey through the Rhine in Light from Rotterdam to Basel . In 1962 the theme was the Olympics of Light , in 1964 Berlin yesterday and today . The then ruling mayor of the divided city of Berlin , Willy Brandt , opened the light weeks to thank the people of Essen. In 1993 the central square north of the main train station in the city center was named after Brandt. In 1965, Luminous Gardens were the motto for the Federal Horticultural Show in Grugapark . In 1967 the theme was fairy tale land with photos of Mickey Mouse, Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White.
1970s
In 1970 the path of the Apollo 11 crew was traced under the motto The Way to the Moon . At the beginning of the 1970s, the light shows, at the beginning of the trim-yourself movement , were under the motto trim yourself . Then the electricity consumption of the light weeks was discussed, as the light show took place in the time of the oil price crisis and Sunday driving bans. In 1973 the Karstadt department store chain decided to forego Christmas illuminated advertising in their department stores on Limbecker Platz and in Rüttenscheid , considering possible difficulties with the energy supply . In addition, the Essen-based advertising community agreed to switch off the lamps for the Lichtwochen 90 minutes earlier every day. So instead of between 11 p.m. and midnight as before, it was switched off until 10.30 p.m. According to the advertising community, that should have meant 1200 kilowatts less consumption per day. In 1974 it was said: All the world in Essen - 25 years of light weeks . In these economically difficult years, there was a conscious focus on funny motifs: in 1977 the motto was Max and Moritz , in 1978 Loriots Wum and Wendelin shone , and in 1979 children painted the templates for the light scaffolding.
1980s
In 1981 the decade started with Disney characters in Micky's Light Show , followed by the motto Walk in the following year. In 1983, the A Heart for Children campaign became the charity of the Essen Light Weeks, including motifs by Charlie Brown . In 1987 the motto was dedicated to the action on stage under the title Sooo a theater . Then local themes, such as the construction of the Aalto Theater in 1988 , were implemented in bright motifs. In 1989 the Essen Light Weeks celebrated 40 years of the Federal Republic .
1990s
In 1992 it was called Essen in the middle of Europe and in 1993 it was a world of adventure . In line with the meeting of the 15 European presidents of state and ministerial presidents who met for the European summit in Essen's Grugahalle , the motto in 1994 was Europe in Essen . In 1996 the light show was named Broadway an der Ruhr and showed, among other things, pictures of the local musicals such as Joseph and Starlight Express . In 1997, on the occasion of the 30th Essen Motor Show at Messe Essen , three-dimensional light sculptures with glowing tubes and tubes were used for the first time. A year later, Essen trademarks from culture and business were shown. The 50th anniversary of the Lichtwochen was the occasion in 1999.
The light show began in 2000 under the motto Ten Years of German Unity , with a light panel dedicated to each of the 16 federal states . The opening ceremony was attended by the then Prime Minister Wolfgang Clement from North Rhine-Westphalia and Kurt Biedenkopf from Saxony , accompanied by Essen's then Mayor Wolfgang Reiniger .
2001 to 2016: Concept Europe in Essen
The Lichtwochen turned to the European Union from 2001 to 2016 . The Europe concept in Essen was developed in 2001 by the Essen Marketing Society EMG , which is now the organizer of the Lichtwochen. Every year a host country of the European Union was presented on large-format light panels. A supporting program with culture and folklore from the host country as well as a country village with its typical products accompanied every performance.
The Netherlands were guests in 2001, Great Britain in 2002 , followed by Finland . In 2004 the new EU member was Poland . In 2005 the focus was on Italy . The logo for this showed a drawing of the Colosseum in Rome in the Italian national colors green, white and red. In 2006 Hungary was the partner country. The choice of the European Capital of Culture 2010 also played a role here : Essen for the Ruhr area in Germany and Pécs for Hungary. In the first week, the light show 2006 was supplemented with contemporary light art by Peter Kozma Leuchtwerke . For this purpose, the Kennedyplatz and the surrounding buildings were illuminated with changing motifs, so that the viewer was in the middle of the work of art. Norway was a partner country in 2007. In 2008 it was Austria , because the following year Linz was European Capital of Culture. For the first time in Germany in 2008, the winter lighting in a city, at least for the large motifs, was switched to energy-saving LEDs . The Essen Light Weeks 2009 put motifs under the motto Essen for the Ruhr Area - European Capital of Culture 2010 into the spotlight. At the same time, the Lichtwochen had their 60th anniversary this year, for which the exhibition Glanzlichter - 60 years Essener Lichtwochen with historical pictures and articles by the Essen Marketing Gesellschaft EMG , the Sparkasse Essen and the Ruhr Museum took place in the main office of the Sparkasse Essen .
With the 61st light show in 2010, the Essen Marketing Company EMG presented all twenty large motifs under the same motto of the previous year at the end of the year of the Capital of Culture year. New was the fireworks display on October 31, 2010 on Kennedyplatz.
Then the previous motto Europe as a guest was continued in Essen , with Slovenia as the host country in 2011 and France in 2012 . In 2013 Sweden was the host country, although the idea of the Capital of Culture remained, as Umeå carried this title in 2014. In addition, these 64th Light Weeks were the first to light up 100 percent with energy-saving LEDs, with Sweden introducing itself with motifs from ABBA , the Vikings as well as the figures Pippi Longstocking and Michel from Lönneberga from Astrid Lindgren 's children's literature. In 2014, the neighboring country Belgium was a guest, although the idea of the Capital of Culture lived on here too, as Mons was named European Capital of Culture in 2015 . This was followed by Spain as a guest country in 2015, whose Basque city San Sebastián was European Capital of Culture in 2016. These light weeks were seen by around five million visitors. Denmark was the guest country at the 67th edition in 2016 , and its second largest city, Aarhus, followed in 2017 as the cultural capital. The opening of this light show was accompanied by music-synchronized fireworks on Kennedyplatz . In addition, the first Essen Light Festival took place from October 31 to November 5, 2016, during which buildings in the north of the city, including the Kreuzeskirche , were staged with light shows and video mappings .
2004: host country Poland
2005: Italy as host country
2007: host country Norway
2012: Host country France
2014: host country Belgium
2015: Host country Spain
Since 2017
Since Essen was the Green Capital of Europe in 2017 , this was the motto of the year's light weeks. A light curtain consisting of 30,000 LEDs was installed above Willy-Brandt-Platz, on which, among other things, pictures of past light weeks were shown. In this context, the Essen Light Festival took place for the second time from October 29 to November 11, 2017.
In 2018, after the opening fireworks in the park of the university district (Green Center), the light weeks took place for the first time without a fixed motto. You too was preceded by the Essen Light Festival . The 2019 Light Weeks are also no longer organized according to a specific motto.
Topic overview
Chronological listing of the topics of the Essen Light Weeks from the beginning until today:
| year | theme |
|---|---|
| 1928-1929/1938 | Predecessor events |
| 1950 | Eating in the light |
| 1951 | Eating in the light |
| 1952 | Festival of Light |
| 1953 | Crowns and crystals |
| 1954 | Crowns and crystals |
| 1955 | Gruga in the city |
| 1956 | 1001 night |
| 1957 | Roads of Europe |
| 1958 | Between yesterday and tomorrow |
| 1959 | In the forms of time |
| 1960 | Premiere in light |
| 1961 | A journey through the Rhine in light from Rotterdam to Basel |
| 1962 | Olympics of Light |
| 1963 | European impressions |
| 1964 | Berlin - yesterday and today |
| 1965 | Luminous gardens |
| 1966 | The big show |
| 1967 | Wonderland - Kinderland |
| 1968 | A trip around the world in light |
| 1969 | 20 years of Essen Light Weeks |
| 1970 | The way to the moon |
| 1971 | Susi and her animals |
| 1972 | keep fit |
| 1973 | Always stay happy |
| 1974 | Everyone in Essen |
| 1975 | World fair |
| 1976 | The world of the Far East |
| 1977 | Max and Moritz - The 7 pranks |
| 1978 | Wum and Wendelin in Essen |
| 1979 | Children paint Essen Light Weeks |
| 1980 | Postalgie |
| 1981 | Micky's light show |
| 1982 | Come in |
| 1983 | Food - a heart for children |
| 1984 | Fairytale |
| 1985 | 150 years of German railways |
| 1986 | Food - literally good |
| 1987 | Such a theater |
| 1988 | Premiere Aalto Theater |
| 1989 | 40 years of the Federal Republic - welcome to the whole world |
| 1990 | 500 years of post |
| 1991 | Food lights up - really good |
| 1992 | Eating in the middle of Europe |
| 1993 | World of adventure |
| 1994 | Europe in Essen |
| 1995 | 100 years of cinema |
| 1996 | Broadway on the Ruhr |
| 1997 | 30 years of Essen motor show |
| 1998 | Essen highlights |
| 1999 | 50 years of Essen Light Weeks |
| 2000 | 10 years of German unity |
| 2001 | Europe in Essen - host country Netherlands |
| 2002 | Europe in Essen - Great Britain as host country |
| 2003 | Europe in Essen - host country Finland |
| 2004 | Europe in Essen - host country Poland |
| 2005 | Europe in Essen - host country Italy |
| 2006 | Europe in Essen - host country Hungary |
| 2007 | Europe in Essen - host country Norway |
| 2008 | Europe in Essen - host country Austria |
| 2009 | Essen for the Ruhr area - European Capital of Culture 2010 |
| 2010 | Essen for the Ruhr area - European Capital of Culture 2010 |
| 2011 | Europe in Essen - host country Slovenia |
| 2012 | Europe in Essen - host country France |
| 2013 | Europe in Essen - host country Sweden |
| 2014 | Europe in Essen - host country Belgium |
| 2015 | Europe in Essen - host country Spain |
| 2016 | Europe in Essen - host country Denmark |
| 2017 | European Green Capital - Essen 2017 |
| since 2018 | without a fixed motto |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nahraum.de from the editorial team Wissen.de: Headlines of 1928: Essen Light Weeks attract customers ( memento of the original from November 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Retrieved September 5, 2013, offline
- ↑ a b c DerWesten.de v. October 24, 2010: Lights as a sign of strength and confidence ; accessed on October 31, 2016
- ^ Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung WAZ of November 8, 1973: Light weeks burn 90 minutes less
- ↑ DerWesten.de: Recycled motifs; October 1, 2010 ; accessed on October 31, 2016
- ↑ Derwesten.de of January 7, 2016: Five million visitors at the 66th Essen Light Weeks ; accessed on October 31, 2016
- ↑ Visit Denmark, press release of August 29, 2012: Danish Aarhus to be European Capital of Culture 2017 ; accessed on October 31, 2016
- ↑ to 2009: Thomas Dupke, Dirk F. Paßmann, Heike Schupetta: Essen from A to Z; Worth knowing in 1500 key words . Aschendorff, 2009, ISBN 3-402-00238-8 .
